 These are light and delicious and not very difficult to make.
Get creative with fillings-Fig & Gorgonzola, Chocolate, Raspberry & Cream Cheese.
It is very important you do not try to halve the recipe. Instead, divide the dough and use them for different fillings.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole milk, heated to warm (105°F–110°F/40°C-43°C)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (from two 1/4-oz packages)
3 3/4 to 4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) cold unsalted butter
Instructions:
Make Dough:
Stir together warm milk, brown sugar, and yeast in bowl of standingmixer and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If it doesn’t foam,discard and start over.) Add 3 3/4 cups flour and salt and mix withdough hook at low speed until dough is smooth and very soft, about 7minutes.
Transfer dough to a work surface and knead by hand 2 minutes, addingmore flour as necessary, a little at a time, to make a soft, slightlysticky dough. Form dough into a roughly 1 1/2-inch-thick rectangle andchill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until cold, about 1 hour.
Prepare and Shape Butter:
After dough has chilled, arrange sticks of butter horizontally, theirsides touching, on a work surface. Pound butter with a rolling pin tosoften slightly (butter should be malleable but still cold). Scrapebutter into a block and put on a kitchen towel, then cover with othertowel. Pound and roll out on both sides until butter forms a uniform 8-by 5-inch rectangle. Chill, wrapped in towels, while rolling out dough.
Roll Out Dough:
Unwrap dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface, dusting withflour as necessary and lifting and stretching dough (especially incorners), into a 16- by 10-inch rectangle. Arrange dough with a shortside nearest you. Put butter in center of dough so that long sides ofbutter are parallel to short sides of dough. Fold as you would aletter: bottom third of dough over butter, then top third down overdough. Brush off excess flour with pastry brush.
Roll Out Dough:
Turn dough so a short side is nearest you, then flatten dough slightlyby pressing down horizontally with rolling pin across dough at regularintervals, making uniform impressions. Roll out dough into a 15- by10-inch rectangle, rolling just to but not over ends.
Brush off any excess flour. Fold in thirds like a letter, as above,stretching corners to square off dough, forming a 10- by 5-inchrectangle. (You have completed the first "fold.") Chill, wrapped inplastic wrap, 1 hour.
Make remaining "folds": Make 3 more folds in same manner, chillingdough 1 hour after each fold, for a total of 4 folds. (If any butteroozes out while rolling, sprinkle with flour to prevent sticking.) Wrapdough tightly in plastic wrap and chill at least 8 hours but no morethan 18 (after 18 hours, dough may not rise sufficiently when baked).
Makes about 2 3/4 lb./24 croissants.
Source: Gourmet, October 2000
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